I Still Love You
by Midnight Hands
Summary: What would've happened had Lily married Snape.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Evans-Snape, Harry," read Professor McGonagall.

Harry stepped up to the chair, sat down and placed the Sorting Hat on his head. After a few seconds of careful consideration, the Hat called out one word.

"Gryffindor!"

10 years earlier

Lily Evans walked through the front door of her home in Godric's Hollow.

"Is he still whizzing around on that thing?" she asked, smiling, upon seeing her one-year-old son riding around on his toy broomstick.

Severus laughed, "Yes, he has been all day."

"I'm glad he has something to keep him amused. And you too, by the looks of it." Lily walked up to her husband, hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm happy if he's happy," said Severus, looking at his young son. "Now that you're home to look after Harry, I need to go run some quick errands. I should be home in about an hour."

"Okay, that's fine. I'll have dinner ready and Harry tucked up in bed by the time you get back," replied Lily.

Severus walked to where Harry was playing and hugged him. He then went over to his wife, gave her a quick kiss, and left.

When he arrived back at their house, Severus could instantly tell something was wrong. The front door was open. Lily _never_ left the front door open. He rushed inside and up the stairs. He heard Harry crying, screaming. He ran into the room and stopped dead in his tracks as he saw something he never should've had to see.

His wife.

On the ground.

Dead.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Unexpected Meetings**

As Harry walked into the living room, his father got up and crossed to the other side of the room.

"Happy birthday, Harry," he said, hugging Harry.

"Thanks, Dad," he replied, returning the hug.

"Guess what arrived for you this morning?" asked Severus, a small smile playing on his lips.

Harry's eyes widened as realization dawned upon him. He ran into the kitchen and saw it, sitting there on the bench. His Hogwarts acceptance letter. It was finally here. As Harry walked over and picked it up, his father walked into the room, smiling at his now 11-year-old son.

Harry stood there for almost 10 minutes, grinning at the piece of parchment and re-reading it over and over again. Finally, he looked up at his father.

"It's here. It's actually here!" he said in a state of disbelief.

"Yes, it is," said Severus, beaming at his son. "How do you feel about taking a trip to Diagon Alley today?"

"Oooh, yes please!" Harry was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement.

"Go upstairs and get ready. We'll leave in about half an hour," said Severus, exiting the kitchen.

Harry bolted up the stairs so he could get ready for his trip to Diagon Alley to buy all his supplies for his first year at Hogwarts. As he brushed his jet black hair, his mind went into overdrive. What type of wand would he get? What house would he be sorted into? Slytherin, like his father? Or Gryffindor, like his mum? Or another house altogether? Would he make any friends? What will the teachers be like? Nice or terribly mean? Would he be good in his classes? Would he be any good at _magic_?

_Calm down, Harry_, he told himself. _There's no reason to panic, everything will be just fine._

"Harry, are you ready?" His father's voice jolted him back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm coming now," he called back.

Severus watched Harry bound down the stairs with a giant grin on his face.

He was so proud of his son. It didn't even matter to him what house he was put into, though he doubted Harry would be in Slytherin; he was too much like his mother for that. Maybe Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Either way, it would hardly matter. Harry would thrive in any house.

"Are we going now?" Harry asked, arriving at the bottom of the steps.

"Let me get some Floo Powder and then we'll go," his father replied.

Severus swiftly left the room and entered a minute later.

"Okay," he said, smiling. "Let's go."

A couple of minutes later, the pair was walking down Diagon Alley towards Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"While you get your robes, I'll go to Gringotts. Stay in Madam Malkin's until I come back to get you," said Severus as they stood outside the robe shop.

"Okay," Harry replied distractedly, walking into the store. He turned around in time to see his father walking away, laughing to himself. When Harry turned back to the shop, he saw a blond boy getting measured. He vaguely recognised him. A Malfoy. Everyone in wizarding Britain knew of the Malfoys. Harry knew they had a son around his age but he had hoped against hope that they wouldn't be in the same year. Now it looked like they would be.

"Hey you!"

Harry looked.

"Yeah, you! What's your name?" asked the Malfoy kid.

Harry, slightly shaken, replied "Who's asking?"

"Malfoy…"

_No? Really?_ thought Harry.

"Draco Malfoy," continued the boy.

"Well my name's Harry," he said, eying up the boy

"Harry who?"

"Harry Evans-Snape."

"Ohhh, so _you're _the kid that…uh, had a bit of misfortune when you were a baby. How sad," said Draco nonchalantly.

Harry stood there gaping. Did Draco _really_ just say that to him? If so, he's just as much of a jerk as Harry had been told.  
>"Ah, <em>excuse me<em>? That's rather rude, don't you think?" he replied exasperatedly.

"I'm sure you'll get over it," Draco said, still hardly looking at Harry.

He was still shell shocked by the time Madam Malkin finally came over.

"Hello, dear. Are you here to get your Hogwarts robes fitted?" she asked.

"What? Oh, ah, yes," replied Harry, getting over the shock of what Draco had said to him.

"Okay, just come stand over here, please." Madam Malkin began bewitching bits and bobs to do the various tasks of measuring, cutting and stitching.

When Severus walked into Madam Malkin's, he saw Harry giving a death glare to another boy. And not just any boy, Lucius Malfoy's son. Great. Just great. His son's apparent enemy is a Malfoy.

"How's it all going? Are you almost done?" he asked, walking towards his son.

"Oh, um, yeah. Another minute or so, I think," Harry muttered.

Madam Malkin came over then.

"All done. Just come over here, Mr Snape, and we can sort out payment," she said cheerily.

"So you met Lucius Malfoy's son, then," said Severus as they walked out of the robe store and headed towards Ollivander's.

"You mean Draco? Yeah, I met him. And I hate him," replied Harry, his anger building.

"Oh? And why's that?"

"He practically insulted Mum!" yelled Harry, now rather mad.

His father stopped, his face flashed with pain as he said: "Oh. Go ahead and hate him then, but remember the Malfoys are an extremely powerful family."

"Yeah, I know," said Harry, his anger turning to sorrow and longing for his mother.

"On the plus side, Draco will almost certainly be in Slytherin House and I am fairly confident you won't be."

They continued walking to Ollivander's. Severus opened the door, let Harry through then entered himself. He, again, stopped and said in an icy voice:

"Hello, James."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Promise**

"Ah, hello Severus," said James in an equally chilling voice.

"Harry, this is James Potter," explained Severus. "Your mother, James and I were in the same year at Hogwarts."

"So this is Harry. Nice to meet you," said James, politely offering his hand.

Harry shook it. "Ah, yeah, nice to meet you, too."

"This," said James, "is my daughter, Hannah." He gestured to the dark-haired girl next to him.

"It's nice to meet you, Hannah," said Severus, smiling kindly at the young girl. "I'm guessing you and Harry will be in the same year."

"Hi," Hannah replied quietly.

"Well, we better be off," said James after a rather awkward silence, "we still need to get some books. It was nice meeting you, Harry. Goodbye, Severus."

"Goodbye, James," said Severus, stepping aside and giving James a harsh glare, not unlike the one Harry had given Draco.

"Well, that was awkward," said Harry as they walked up to the counter.

"Yes, it was, wasn't it?" replied his father. "Ah, hello Mr Ollivander. We are after a wand for Harry here."

"Hmmm, yes. Let's see what we've got…" Mr Ollivander began searching through stacks of small boxes. "Try this one, perhaps."

Harry took the wand and gave it a slight wave. All hell broke loose. Windows smashed, boxes went flying, lights shattered.

"Oh, ah, maybe not," said Ollivander. He went further back into the store and came back a minute or so later, with another box which he passed to Harry.

After giving the wand a flick, some of the pieces of glass from the windows flew around and sliced at boxes on the ground.

"No, not that one either." Ollivander was again swallowed by the stacks of boxes. He came out with yet another box.

"Hmmm, this one, maybe…" said Ollivander thoughtfully.

Harry gave the wand a swish and the air grew warm, the room lit up and a gentle breeze blew around him.

"Yes, that's the one," said the smiling wand-maker. Then his expression turned to one of grave realization.

"What's wrong?" asked Harry, now a bit nervous.

"The phoenix that gave the feather used in that wand, also gave another. Just one other. And it's in the wand that belongs to none other than the Dark Lord himself."

Harry gasped, as did his father.

"So, they're like brother wands, then?" questioned Severus.

"Yes, I guess you could say that," replied Ollivander.

"But why? Why did You-Know-Who's wand's brother choose me?" asked Harry, getting a bit agitated.

"I…I don't know." Ollivander sighed.  
>"Well, thank you anyway, Mr Ollivander," said Severus as he dropped seven galleons on the counter and walked out, closely followed by Harry.<p>

They were walking towards Flourish and Blotts when Severus finally spoke.

"Try not to look into it too much, son. That wand could've chosen anyone."

"But it didn't!" Harry exploded. "It chose _me_!"

Severus sighed in exhaustion. It'd been a long day. Even though it was only 11:30 in the morning, the day seemed to be stretching out.

"Yes, it did. But it doesn't necessarily _mean_ anything."

"But what if it _does_? What if the wand is meant to defeat its brother? Therefore, meaning I have to defeat You-Know-Who!"

Harry's outburst was starting to cause some people to give them strange looks.

"Harry, calm down. It doesn't have to mean anything unless you want it to. Just let it go." Severus' tone signalled the end of the discussion.

They spent the rest of the trip in silence, only communicating when absolutely necessary. When they arrived home with everything they needed, Harry went straight upstairs to his room.

Who was right about his new wand? Him, or his father? Probably Severus, of course. What did Harry know, anyway? He'd only just turned eleven, after all. But what if he_ was_ right? Is he destined to destroy Voldemort? No, he can't be. He's no hero; he's just Harry Evans-Snape. Yes, just Harry.

* * *

><p>When Harry woke up the next morning, he instantly remembered the events of the previous day. He needed to do some damage control. He'd gotten angry with his father and hadn't even apologised to him. That was something you avoid at all times with Severus.<p>

Harry quietly tip-toed downstairs. He poked his head around the corner to see if his father was there. And he was, sitting in his chair.

"Morning, Dad," he said nervously

"Hello, Harry. How are you this morning?" he asked.

Uh-oh. This wasn't right. Why was Severus not mad?

"Um, I'm ok. You?"

"I'm very well, thank you." Severus paused. "Harry, we need to talk. About yesterday."

Harry sat down.

"I just want you to know that I don't blame you for losing your temper. I've had time to think about what you said. I have to admit that you may be correct."

Wait, what? Did Harry hear that right?

"In saying that, I want to make sure you know that I'm _not_ saying you're _definitely_ correct. It's just a theory, Harry." Severus was getting very serious now. "Please promise me you won't go doing anything reckless when you get to Hogwarts. I can't bear to lose you too."

Harry was watching a tear fall down Severus' cheek.

His father looked up, his eyes full of longing. Harry responded with a tight hug.

The two of them, father and son, stayed like that, resting in each other's arms for an unknown length of time. It could have been 2 minutes or 2 hours. Harry finally spoke. "I'm not sure I can promise anything, but I'll do my very best."

Severus smiled. He was beginning to see more of himself in his son.

Harry Evans-Snape was going to become a hero.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Till Next Time**

This was it. Severus' only son was going to Hogwarts. Today. Just as he began thinking about what would happen to Harry when he got to Hogwarts, the boy came crashing down the stairs, his trunk in tow.

"Can we go now?" he asked, grinning at Severus.

"It's only 8:30!" Severus exclaimed. "The Hogwarts Express doesn't leave until 11 o'clock."

"Oh…well can we go anyway?"

"No! We're not going to wait around at the train station for 2 hours," replied Severus, smiling ever so slightly.

"Alright then. When can we go?" Harry asked.

"We'll leave around 10:30. How does that sound?"

"Okay. But what do I do while I'm waiting?" The kid was full of questions.

"I don't know. Read one of your textbooks," Severus said, still smiling.

Harry looked momentarily doubtful. "Okay."

He opened his trunk, pulled out a book, sat down and started flicking through it.

2 hours and 5 partially read textbooks later, Harry jumped up.

"Can we go _now_?" he asked, his eyes glowing with excitement.

Severus checked the time. "Sure."

Harry briefly hugged his father and then grabbed his trunk, ready to leave.

"Forgetting something?" Severus said, amusement showing on his face.

Harry turned to look at him questioningly, then he realised what his father was talking about.

"Hedwig!" he yelled, turning again to run out to the deck where his snowy owl was waiting patiently in her cage.

When he returned inside, his father was waiting by the fireplace with a bag of Floo Powder.

"Ready?" Severus asked.

"Ready."

"Let's go, then."

* * *

><p>King's Cross Station was humming with activity. Severus and Harry made a beeline for Platforms 9 and 10.<p>

"You ready, son?

Harry nodded.

"Off you go, then. Don't worry, I'll be right behind you," Severus said, smiling kindly.

Harry ran at the barrier between the two platforms and emerged on the hidden Platform 9 ¾. He'd made the journey to this odd platform many times. Every year, on September 1st, he and his father always came to see off the Hogwarts Express. Now it was finally Harry's turn to board it.

Severus came through after Harry. He looked at the clock on the wall – 10:38 – they had plenty of time.

"Harry, I'm going to go get a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. Do you want to come with me?"

"What? Ah, sure."

They walked over to the vendor who was selling the _Daily Prophet_.

"One, please," said Severus, placing one knut on the table and then picking up a newspaper.

As they sat down, Harry spotted someone he recognized.

"Hello, Mr Weasley," he said.

"Ah, hello there, Harry. Excited about going to Hogwarts, are you?" said Mr Weasley.

"Yes, I can't wait!" exclaimed Harry, getting excited all over again.

"Hello, Arthur," said Severus, looking up at his colleague.

"Oh, hello, Severus. How are you today?" asked Arthur in a friendly tone.

"I'm good, thanks. And you?"

"I'm also good. Sending another one off to Hogwarts this year," Arthur replied. "Ron! Come over here!" he called.

A young ginger-haired boy came towards them.

"What?" he said.

"Ron, this is Harry. He's going to be in his first year, too. And you've met his father, Mr Snape," explained Arthur.

"Oh, right. Hi, nice to meet you, Harry," Ron said.

"Yeah, nice to meet you, too," Harry said, shaking hands with the ginger boy.

Harry suddenly saw someone out the corner of his eye. A blond someone. Draco Malfoy. Fantastic. Draco caught his eye and gestured him over.  
>"I'll be back in a minute," he muttered, walking off. "What do you want Draco?" he asked impatiently.<p>

"I want to apologise. We didn't exactly get off on the right foot. I'm sorry if I said anything that offended you," Draco said.

Was he being genuine? It was hard to tell. He was a Malfoy, after all.

"No, really," Harry eyed Draco up suspiciously, "what do you_ actually_ want?"

"Fine. Father wanted me to make sure I wasn't on your bad side. I have no idea why. I'm just doing what I'm told," said Draco.

That sounded a bit more realistic.

"Okay then. Consider you not on my bad side," Harry said as Draco turned to leave. "Oh, and by the way, you were never on my bad side. I just didn't particularly like you."

Draco gave him one final glance, and then walked away.

"What was that all about?" Severus asked Harry. When he'd returned, Ron and Mr Weasley had just left.

"Apparently Lucius Malfoy doesn't want Draco to be on my bad side," replied Harry.

"Why?"

"No idea. Draco said he didn't know, he was just doing what he was told."

"Hmmm. I guess we'll find out eventually," said Severus. _This can't be good_, he thought.

Harry glanced at the large clock. 10:53.

"Dad, the train's going to leave soon," he said.

"So it is. You should probably get on, then," replied Severus.

Harry suddenly hugged him. "I'm going to miss you so much, Dad."

A single tear found its way down Severus' cheek. "I'm going to miss you too, son," he said, wiping the tear away. "You best be getting on the train and finding a seat." Severus held Harry at arm's length.

"Hey Harry." Ron Weasley came over. "Do you want to come with me? We can find a compartment together."

"Oh yeah, sure," said Harry.

Ron walked away and left the pair alone again.

"Good luck, Harry," Severus said, smiling at his son.

"Thanks, Dad. I'll write to you as soon as I can. And I'll see you at Christmas, anyway." Harry tuned away and boarded the train.

At exactly 11 o'clock the Hogwarts Express pulled out of King's Cross Station.

Severus stood there, watching it go by then he repeated the last three words he said to his son.

"Good luck, Harry."

He then turned and walked slowly away.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Usual, Yet Unusual, Sorting**

"So you're an only child? Wow, I've got 5 brothers and a sister." Ron and Harry were sitting in a compartment snacking on a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

"Yeah, it's just me and my dad," said Harry. "What's it like having such a big family?"

"It's okay, I guess. My oldest brother, Bill, is working for Gringotts in Egypt and my second oldest brother, Charlie is in Romania working with dragons," said Ron, "so there are only five of us kids at home."

While Ron was saying all this, Harry was wondering if he would've had any brothers or sisters, had his mum survived.

"Harry! Hey, Harry! Hellooo, anybody home?" Ron was waving his hand in front of Harry's eyes.

"Sorry, what?" said Harry, confused.

"I said, we should probably put our robes on now. We'll be arriving at Hogwarts soon," said Ron.

"Oh. Yeah, you're right," replied Harry.

By the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station, the two boys were in their robes.

"You ready, Harry?" asked Ron.

"Yup," said Harry, smiling excitedly. They were finally here.

As they were walking towards the exit, a bushy-haired girl came up to them.

"You haven't seen a cat have you? Mine ran off not long after we left King's Cross and I can't find him anywhere."

Ron looked at Harry. "Um, no sorry."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure he'll– Crookshanks!" The girl rushed past them. "Where have you been, you stupid cat?" she said, awkwardly picking up a fluffy ginger cat.

"What the bloody hell _is_ that thing?" exclaimed Ron.

"He's a cat, thank you very much! Well, he's also half kneazle…" she said, trailing off. "Oh, by the way, I'm Hermione Granger. And you are?"

"Um, Ron Weasley," said Ron, staring worriedly at Crookshanks.

"I'm Harry Evans-Snape," said Harry (who couldn't care less about the cat).

"It's nice to meet you both. We should really be getting off the train now," said Hermione.

The three of them (plus Crookshanks) got off the train and ran to catch up with the other first years.

"So Hermione," said Harry, "what house do you want to be in?"

"Ravenclaw," replied Hermione without hesitation. "What about you?"

"Harry and I both want to be in Gryffindor," said Ron

"Cool," said Hermione quietly. She thought she quite liked these two boys and she'd been hoping they'd be in the same house. Oh well.

They continued walking in silence until they got to the lake.

"Do you want to share a boat with us, Hermione?" asked Ron.

"Sure," said Hermione, jumping into a boat.

"Um," said a quiet voice behind them, "can I share a boat with you?"

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned around to see a nervous boy standing there and giving them a questioning look.

"Of course. Jump in," said Harry.

The boy got in cautiously.

"So what's your name?" asked Harry.

"Neville," said the boy. "Neville Longbottom."

"Nice to meet you, Neville. I'm Harry and this is Ron and Hermione," said Harry, gesturing to the others.

"Hi," said Neville, looking shyly at the bottom of the boat.

The rest of the trip across the lake was in silence.

When the convoy of first-years arrived on the shore, everyone jumped out of their boats. The air was buzzing with excitement.

"I can't believe we're actually here!" said Ron to Harry and Hermione.

"Yeah," was all Harry said.

The first-years stood, waiting anxiously, outside the Great Hall.

"In a minute, the doors will open and I will lead you into the Great Hall." Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, was guiding them through what was going to happen that evening. "We will go up to the front and the Sorting will begin. When I call your name, please come forward and sit on the stool. I will then place the Sorting Hat on your head. When you have been Sorted, please go sit down at your House table."

The first-years collectively nodded in understanding.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

><p>As the first-years entered the Great Hall, their eyes flicking around with curious excitement, the four tables quietened as everyone turned to look at the procession of new students. When they go to the front, Professor McGonagall started reading out names and the Sorting began.<p>

"Bones, Susan."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Crabbe, Vincent."

"Slytherin!"

Soon after, Harry was called.

"Evans-Snape, Harry," read Professor McGonagall.

Harry stepped up to the chair, sat down and placed the Sorting Hat on his head. After a few seconds of careful consideration, the Hat called out one word.

"Gryffindor!"

Harry jumped off the seat, a large smile on his face, and walked quickly over to the Gryffindor table. After being welcomed by the Gryffindors, Harry turned his attention back to the Sorting.

"Granger, Hermione."

Hermione walked nervously up to where the Sorting Hat was perched on top of the stool. She sat down and the Hat was placed on her head.

"Hmmm," said the Hat quietly, "bright. Yes, very bright indeed. But also strong-willed and I believe I detect bravery, too. What will it be, then? Ravenclaw or Gryffindor?"

_Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor!_ Hermione thought.

"Gryffindor, eh? Not Ravenclaw? You would do very well there."

_Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor!_

Alright, then. Gryffindor!"

Harry cheered loudly as Hermione came and joined him at the Gryffindor table.

"Congratulations," he said as Hermione sat down.

"Thanks, you too," she replied.

At this point, Draco Malfoy had been called up. When he sat down and the Hat was placed on his head, there was a pause and Draco's expression turned from arrogance to one of worry.

Harry was confused, it shouldn't take too long to Sort him. He was a Malfoy. The obvious House was Slytherin.

_Why are you taking so long, you stupid Hat?_ thought Draco.

"Insults are not going to get you what you want, Mr Malfoy," replied the Hat at a pitch only Draco could here. "You'd think a Malfoy would be easy to Sort, wouldn't you? But you, however, are different. I see many non-Slytherin qualities in you, Draco Malfoy. Particularly Gryffindor."

_What?_ thought Draco in outrage. _That's absurd! You can't put me in Gryffindor, I'm a Malfoy!_

"I never said I would, Mr Malfoy. All I said was you had many characteristics of a Gryffindor."

_Buy I have to be in Slytherin! There's no other way!_

"Actually, there are three other ways. You may not know this, Draco, but when I Sort a student, I don't just take into consideration their characteristics, I think about which House they would do well in. I believe you would thrive in either Gryffindor or Slytherin. In saying that, you have more Gryffindor qualities then Slytherin ones. So the obvious choice would be Gryffindor, don't you think?"

_No, I don't!_ Draco was getting very worried. _Just put me in Slytherin already…please._

"Manners from a Malfoy? Gryffindor is looking better by the second. But since you asked so nicely…

"Slytherin!"

"What was that all about?" Harry asked Hermione.

"I have absolutely no idea," she replied.

"Weasley, Ronald."

Ron had barely sat down when the Sorting Hat made its decision.

"Gryffindor!"


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Alone**

Later in the evening, after the elaborate start-of-term feast, Harry, Ron, Hermione and the other first-year Gryffindors made their way up to the Seventh Floor, where the Gryffindor Tower was located. They were being led by Ron's older brother, Percy, who was a Gryffindor Prefect.

The trio were discussing the Sorting.

"But I still don't understand _why!_" exclaimed Ron. "What would make the Sorting Hat take so long to Sort _Malfoy?_ I mean, seriously, what's so hard about putting him in Slytherin?" Ron was very vocal on this particular topic.

"Again, I don't know," said Harry, "but what does it matter? He's in Slytherin where he belongs." Harry and Hermione, however, were both getting sick of it.

"I suppose," said Ron, sighing.

* * *

><p>"Wow," said Hermione in awe.<p>

The first-years had just entered the Gryffindor Common Room for the very first time.

"And this," said Percy, who'd given them a running commentary the entire way up, "is the Gryffindor Common Room. You'd come here after classes to relax and socialise with other Gryffindors."

"No, really?" said Ron sarcastically to Harry. "_That's_ what you do in a _common room?_"

Percy didn't hear him, of course. He was blabbering on about the dormitories. When he finished, the first-years began moving off to their new dorm rooms.

"Well," said Hermione, "I guess I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Yeah," said Harry as she walked off, "see ya."

When Harry and Ron go to their room, there were already three other boys there, one of them being Neville.

"Hello again, Neville," said Harry.

"Oh, hi Harry," Neville replied.

Ron walked over to the other two boys.

"I'm Ron," he said. "Ron Weasley."

"Nice to meet you, Ron," said one of the boys. "I'm Dean and this is Seamus." He gestured to himself then the other of the two.

"Good to meet you. Oh, that's Harry by the way," said Ron, pointing to Harry who waved in response.

After the initial introductions, the five boys went to bed, exhausted. The next day would be busy with the beginning of classes.

* * *

><p>Hermione walked slowly down the stairs. The previous night had been rather awkward. She'd met the other Gryffindor girls, Lavender and Parvati, who'd both been very nice, but that wasn't the awkward part. No, it was when they'd tried <em>getting to know<em> her. Hermione wasn't one to share things with people she'd only just met. She knew _now_ that she should've talked to them, they would be sharing a dorm for the next seven years, after all. The only problem was that she just wasn't good at making friends.

As she came to the common room and spotted Harry and Ron, she thought how lucky she was to have made _some_ friends, even if they were boys.

* * *

><p>"Morning, Hermione," said Ron cheerily as he saw her walking towards him and Harry.<p>

"Good morning," she said in reply. "Are you ready for classes?"

"Ummm," said Ron uncertainly. "Sort of. I guess."

"You'll be fine. Don't worry about it," said Hermione kindly.

"Do you guys want to go and get breakfast now?" asked Harry.

"Sure," said Ron.

The trio began making their way down to the Great Hall.

When they finally navigated the halls of Hogwarts and made it to the Great Hall, the Gryffindor table was almost full. Ron led them over to where his brothers, Fred, George and Percy, were sitting.

"_Please_ tell me you didn't do it!" Percy was harassing Fred and George about something.

"Well…" said George.

"If we did…" continued Fred.

"We'd be lying," finished George

"What happened?" asked Ron.

"Your stupid brothers made Peeves terrorise the first-year Hufflepuffs," said Percy in exasperation.

"We didn't _make_ him do anything," said Fred.

"No one can _make_ Peeves do anything. Well, besides the Bloody Baron, but I'm not sure if he counts," said George.

"Well," said Percy, still worked up, "I don't think that he would get Peeves to do that! He may be the Ghost of Slytherin House, but I'm fairly sure even_ he_ wouldn't sink that low."

That conversation continued throughout breakfast. Harry, Ron and Hermione got up and left as the three brothers were still arguing.

"Ron," asked Hermione, "do you and your brothers always have arguments like that?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Though usually when Mum's not around. That's why they're doing it on the first day at Hogwarts; they never get the chance at home."

* * *

><p>Severus Snape was sitting at his home in Godric's Hollow. His son, Harry, would be starting his classes at Hogwarts. Whenever Severus thought about Harry, he would always remember Lily. He recalled the night she was killed as if it were yesterday.<p>

He'd been called into the Ministry earlier on to go over some cases he'd been working on, but he'd been looking after Harry, so he told his boss that he would come in after Lily got home. He should've just taken Harry with him and gone when he was called. He could've prevented all this from happening. It was his fault Harry had to grow up without a mother.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Remembering**

As Severus sat in his living room, he was thinking about his time at Hogwarts. He and Lily had been best friends; it was Severus, after all, that had known Lily was a witch, even before she did.

When they'd got to Hogwarts, Severus had been Sorted into Slytherin, whereas Lily was in Gryffindor with that blasted James Potter. Potter and his friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, were bullies who, in Severus' opinion, disgraced the name of Godric Gryffindor.

In their 5th year, it became common knowledge that James liked Lily. But she wanted nothing to do with them. When she told him as much, he pushed her to the ground and pointed his wand at her. It was then that Severus saw what was happening and raced over.

"Leave her alone! She doesn't like you! Don't you get it? You're just a bully! Lily is the kindest person you'll ever meet and you don't deserve her!" Severus shouted at James.

"Who do you think you are, Snivellus? Her _bodyguard_?" contended James.

"No," said Lily, standing up, "he's right. I already told you I want nothing to do with you. You are a jerk and a coward. Now would you please lower your wand?"

James did so and glared at Severus. "This isn't over, Snivellus."

When they got to their sixth year, James attempted to get his revenge. Severus had been walking up from the Slytherin dungeons on his way to meet Lily in the library when James came out of the shadows.

"What," questioned Severus, "no minions?"

"They're my friends, not my minions and I wanted to settle this, just you and me," said James. "How about a duel, Snivellus?"

"No," said Severus. "I'm not going to sink to your level, Potter."

"Oh, come on! Just one tiny duel. Or are you _afraid_?"

"You know I'm not, Potter. I could easily beat you in a duel."

"Then prove it," said James. "Duel with me right now."

"Fine." Severus got into the duelling stance. He was going to take Potter down. Severus had a secret weapon that Potter could never use against him.

"On three," said James, who was also in the duelling stance. "One…two…three! _Expelliarmus!"_

"_Sectumsempra!"_

James fell to the ground, screaming in agony as Severus' wand flew out of his hand.

"What the hell kind of spell is that?" said James through gritted teeth.

"My spell," said Severus. "I told you I would win." Severus grabbed his wand off the floor and began reciting the healing spell. "_Vulnera Sanentur. Vulnera Sanentur. Vulnera Sanentur._" Once he'd finished, he stood up and turned to walk away.

"You are _so_ twisted, Snivellus. Does Lily know that you've created a Dark Curse? Because she will soon," said James, back to his old, arrogant self.

"No," said Severus, still not facing James, "and she never will."

"Um, actually, she will."

"No, Potter," Severus spat the name out, turned around and pointed his wand at James, "she won't. I'm warning you. Lily will never find out about this, or next time, you may not stop bleeding."

That was not one of Severus' proudest moments. He'd created that curse shortly after finding out that Potter liked Lily. He'd never intended to use it. Thankfully, Lily had never found out about it. James had kept his mouth shut and, for that, Severus was extremely grateful. Not just because he didn't want Lily to know, but because he never wanted to have to use that curse again.

* * *

><p>At the end of Harry's first day of classes, he sat in the Gryffindor common room with Ron and Hermione. Hermione was helping Ron with homework that Harry had already finished. With nothing to do, Harry sat thinking. He was thinking about how his mother would've sat in the same room, possibly even the same seat that Harry was in now. She would've sat in this room with her friends, doing homework and talking just like he'd been doing. She would've walked the halls he'd walked, been in the classrooms he'd been in, learned from some of the teachers he'd learned from.<p>

"So, that's all I need to write? Nothing else? Are you sure?" Ron was finishing off his last essay, with Hermione's help, of course.

"_Yes_, that's all you need to write. _No_, nothing else. And _yes_, I'm sure," Hermione appeared to be getting fed up. "Hey, Harry, are you ready to go down to dinner now?"

"Yeah, I have been for ages," replied Harry, standing up.

"Well, if you had nothing to do, you could've always helped Ron with his homework," said Hermione, also getting up.

"Hey! I'm not that useless! I can do my homework without your help!" said Ron, becoming slightly annoyed.

"Oh, really?" responded Hermione. "Would you like to do tomorrow's homework without help from either of us?"

"What, no! I never said I _want_ to do it, I just said I could. It would probably take me a few days, or weeks, but I'd get it done."

"Ok, Ron," said Harry, laughing. "Whatever you say."

* * *

><p>Draco Malfoy sat alone in the Slytherin common room. Everyone else had already gone to the Great Hall for dinner. Draco was still slightly shaken from his experience with the Sorting Hat. Did he really belong in Gryffindor? No, he couldn't. Just as he'd told the Hat, he was a Malfoy and Malfoys were always in Slytherin. The Hat <em>must've <em>been mistaken when it said he had more Gryffindor traits then Slytherin ones. But even so, Draco couldn't help but doubt which house he truly belonged in. One thing Draco knew for sure was that his father must_ never_ know of this.

* * *

><p>Minerva McGonagall had been contacted by Severus Snape and told to keep an eye on his son, Harry.<p>

"Why?" she asked

"Because…just please do this for me, Minerva," Severus replied.

She'd been trying to figure out why she must do this task, but she couldn't come up with anything. She did it, all the same.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: A New Beginning**

October 31. For the rest of the school, it was Halloween. For Harry, it was the anniversary of the day his mother was killed.

On his 7th birthday, Harry's father had given him a scrapbook filled with photos of their family when Lily was still alive. Every year, on this day, Harry would get it out and look through it. He couldn't bear to look at it any other time, as it drew up too many painful emotions. Harry had precious few memories of his mother and by going through the scrapbook and looking at all the photos, he couldn't help but wish he had more.

* * *

><p>Severus had asked for the day off work; he couldn't handle going in to the Ministry today. He sat in his usual seat by the fireplace, looking up the stairs. His mind was running through the events of this exact day, 10 years ago. <em>Seeing the open door, walking up the stairs, hearing his son crying, taking in the sight before him as he<em>— Severus had to consciously force himself to stop the train of thought; it was too painful.

After an unidentifiable period of time, Severus heard on a knock on his door.

"Come in," he called quietly, but still loud enough to be heard from the front door.

"Severus," was all James Potter said as he entered Severus' home.

* * *

><p>Later in the evening, after dinner, Harry was summoned to his Head of House's office.<p>

_Rap, rap. _"Professor McGonagall?" he said as he slowly opened the door.

"Come in," said the Deputy Headmistress, looking up from the papers she was marking. "Oh, Harry, it's you. Come have a seat." She gestured to the cushioned seat in front of her desk. "Do you know why I've called you here?"

Harry shook his head, then, after a moment of consideration, stammered, "Is—is it because of my mum?"

"Yes, Harry," said Professor McGonagall with a look of sadness. "It is." The Transfiguration Professor sighed. "Look, I can only imagine how hard all of this must be for you and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. All I want you to know is that if you ever need to talk, there are plenty people that will be willing to listen, including myself. Also, you could try Neville Longbottom. I'm sure you know of what happened to his parents."

Harry nodded. "Thank you, Professor," he said. "Umm…"

"Yes?"

"Do you think that, perhaps, I would be able to use that," Harry waved his hand towards the fireplace, "to talk to my dad?"

"Of course." Professor McGonagall rummaged through one of the drawers in her desk and pulled out a bag of Floo powder. "I assume you know what to do?"

Harry nodded, picked up the bag of powder and walked over to the fireplace.

"I'll give you some privacy," said Professor McGonagall and she walked towards the exit. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

* * *

><p><em>Earlier, in Godric's Hollow:<em>

Severus spun around. "Potter. You have a lot nerve coming here today. What do you want?"

"Severus," repeated James. "I know that I shouldn't be here, but I had to come. I've left it far too long, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything that happened at Hogwarts, I'm sorry for what happened to Lily, and I'm sorry for not saying any of this earlier."

"Why are you sorry for what happened to Lily? You had nothing to do with it. Did you?" Severus had stood up and was facing James.

"Not in the way you're thinking. I wasn't the one that set the Dark Wizards on her; I wouldn't do that. I did, however, know that someone was going to come here that night. I didn't really know what they were going to do, just that they would come."

"James," said Severus approaching further, "do you know who did this? Do you know who killed Lily?" His voice was icy cold.

"Yes. Well no, not exactly."

"What do you know?"

"I—I…" James had started to back away.

"_What do you know?"_

"Okay, okay. All I know is that Bellatrix Lestrange was involved. You see, when we were at Hogwarts, she had a bit of a crush on you. I know that on that night, she'd been planning to go to your house while you were out at take Lily and Harry."

"That's all you know?"

"That's all I know."

Severus turned away from James. "Wait, how do you know all of this?"

James sighed. "Bellatrix came to me when she'd decided what to do; she wanted help. She said that she'd need help getting Lily out. When I said that I wouldn't do it, she stormed out, but not before saying that her plan may have just changed, and it involved a few more people. At the time, I didn't really know what she meant. Now, obviously, I do."

Severus sat down and processed everything he'd just been told. "Why did she come to you, of all people?"

"I still don't know. I've been asking myself the same question for years. I would find out from her, except for the small fact that she's in Azkaban," said James as he sat down near Severus.

"Yes. What was that for again? When she was convicted, I wasn't really in touch with the outside world."

"She killed Alice Longbottom and tortured her husband, Frank, into near-insanity. Their son, Neville, ended up living with his grandmother."

"Ah, yes. I vaguely recall hearing about that. James, have you told the Ministry about this?"

"No. I was going to, when I heard that she'd been caught on account of killing Alice and torturing Frank."

"Why the hell should that stop you?" Severus exploded. "You could've got her locked up for longer! Did that not cross your _tiny_ mind?"

James didn't reply. The two wizards sat in silence until, finally, Severus spoke.

"James, look, you have to understand that this has all come as a huge shock to me. I honestly don't know what to think at this point." Severus paused while he gathered his thoughts. "Why? Why now? After 10 years, why only come and tell me this _now?" _

"_Because_ it's been 10 years. I've tried telling you before, but I just couldn't; I just didn't know how."

The silence started again. James Potter stood up and was almost out the door when Severus said in a nearly inaudible voice, "Thank you."

* * *

><p><em>Later:<em>

"Dad?" called out Harry tentatively through the fire.

"Harry!" exclaimed Severus as he caught sight of his son. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay, I guess. I miss you, though.

"I miss you too, son. Wait, where are you?" said Severus as he came closer to the fire.

"Professor McGonagall's office."

"What? Does she know you're there?" Severus was a bit worried.

"Of course she does. She's outside at the moment."

"Okay, that's alright then. Wait, why are you in the Deputy Headmistress's office to begin with?"

"She called me after dinner. She just wanted to make sure I was alright. I asked her if I could talk to you, she said I could. Then she gave me some Floo powder and left, saying she wanted to give me some privacy and she'd be back in a few minutes," said Harry as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Well I'm glad you're not getting into too much trouble, and I'm glad you're okay," said Severus.

"Yeah. Same here, Dad. Well, I think I better go now. I'll see you at Christmas."

"Okay. I'm looking forward to it. Stay safe, Harry."

"Always."


	9. Chapter 8

_**Sorry that I've taken so long to update! I've been really busy lately and I don't have alot of time to write. I'm going to try to update every couple of weeks from now on.**_

**_I also want to say thank you all for reading and I would love it if you guys could review as well._**

**_Thank you and sorry!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Turn Of Events <strong>

Draco Malfoy sat at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. It was the end of term feast. In Draco's opinion, the conversation at the table was the same as it always was; dull and pointless.

"Well," said Marcus Flint, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, "_my_ father can get me any broom I want. He said he'll get me a Nimbus 2000 for Christmas. If you _buffoons_ can convince your parents to get you one, we're guaranteed to win the Quidditch Cup and then the House Cup."

If anyone was a buffoon, it was Flint. Draco, and many other Slytherins, knew that the Gryffindor Quidditch team was the strongest it had been in years, and they'd told Flint as much, yet he refused to believe it.

After the feast, as the Houses were splitting off to go to their dorms, Draco silently ran up to Harry and pulled him aside.

"We need to talk," he said as he dragged Harry down a corridor. "In here." Draco led him into an empty classroom.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" said Harry

"My father recently sent me an owl," began Draco.

"Good for you," replied Harry.

"Well," continued Draco, "do you remember when we were on Platform 9 ¾ and I told you that Father wanted me to make sure I wasn't on your bad side? Yeah, well he's finally told me why."

"And?"

"He wants—" Draco broke off and looked down. "He wants me to gain your trust so that he can get his hands on you."

"And do what?"

"I— I don't know."

_Earlier that week:_

Draco was sitting at a table in the Slytherin common room doing his Transfiguration homework when his father's owl came flying in. He quickly untied the parchment from its leg.

_Now is the time. Gain the trust of the Snape boy. He will be of much use to me. _

There was no signature, but it was definitely in Father's style: short and to the point. Draco was always getting told _what_ to do by his father, but never _why_. He re-read the letter a few times, yet he still couldn't even begin to imagine why Father would find Harry useful; he was just a stupid kid who'd lost his mummy.

Draco slowly looked around the common room in a way that wouldn't be obvious to anyone who wasn't looking directly at him. Satisfied no one was watching – Slytherin was full of many _suspicious_ people – he quietly got up and went to his dorm room to think. He eventually decided that he would tell Harry; forewarn him, if you will. He didn't know what he was going to say or how he was going to say it, he just knew I had to be said.

* * *

><p>James Potter left Godric's Hollow and Disapparated to his home in Hogsmeade. As he went inside, he was greeted by his wife, Katelyn.<p>

"James," she said softly, "where have you been?"

"I've," James sat down with a sigh, "I've been visiting a— let's say, an old friend."

After a few minutes of silence, when it became obvious he wasn't going to say anymore, she departed for the kitchen. Over the last few days, she'd been getting increasingly worried about her husband. James was usually a fairly upbeat person – sometimes if only for the sake of their daughter – but recently, he'd been acting…sadder. Katelyn had a feeling that the person James visited today had something to do with his darkening mood.

James sat on the sofa thinking. He thought about how it was as good as his fault that Lily Evans died that night. He thought about all the things he didn't tell Severus. He thought about how he'd followed Bellatrix and found out what she'd been planning. He'd known what she was going to do and he could've prevented all this from happening. It was his fault Severus had to live without his wife; it was his fault Harry had to grow up without a mother.

* * *

><p>Harry stared at Draco in bewilderment. "Okay, Draco, this isn't making any sense to me. Would you care to elaborate?"<p>

"I got a message from my father. It said _'Now is the time. Gain the trust of the Snape boy. He will be of much use to me.'_ and that's all I know." Draco sighed in apparent exhaustion. "There's something you should know about my father. He uses people, including me, for his crazy schemes yet doesn't tell them anything about it. This is honestly _all_ that I know about it."

Harry eyed up Draco, just like he'd done at the train station. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked after a long pause.

Draco turned away. There was another long silence before he said, "Because I can't sit by and watch my father manipulate you like he's done to so many others. I just can't, not again."

The two boys from rival Houses stood in the otherwise empty classroom thinking about the current encounter.

"Draco," said Harry as he walked up to the blond Slytherin. "Thank you. Thank you for telling me this. I know you didn't have to and, to be honest, I'm surprised you did; but thank you."

Harry turned to leave but was stopped by Draco.

"Wait," he said. "You can't tell anyone about this." Harry turned to look at the boy that he had begun to trust. "Promise me you won't tell a soul."

"I promise," said Harry Evans-Snape as he exited and left Draco Malfoy alone in the dark classroom.

* * *

><p>Hannah Potter was smiling as she made her way to Herbology class with her friend and fellow Hufflepuff, Susan Bones. Hannah's mother had been in Hufflepuff, but her father had been a Gryffindor. At the Sorting, she'd been kind of hoping she'd also be in Gryffindor and even more so now.<p>

There were two reasons Herbology was her favourite class. The first was the she was very good at it. The second was that it was the only class Hufflepuff shared with Gryffindor, and that meant she got to spend time with a certain first-year Gryffindor boy. Neville Longbottom was top of their Herbology class and she was a close second. Because of this, Professor Sprout often paired them together, which Hannah enjoyed greatly.

It was their last day of classes before they went home for Christmas. Hannah was hoping that over the break she could convince her parents to let her visit Neville at his grandmother's house. Of course, she would have to ask Neville first…

* * *

><p>Neville Longbottom smiled as he walked into the greenhouse for his favourite class. Neville loved Herbology because it was the one class that he topped; he was even better then <em>Hermione Granger<em>. When he got to his station, his partner, Hannah Potter, was already there.

"Hi Hannah," he said cheerfully. He quite liked the Hufflepuff girl.

"Hi Neville. Um, I was wondering if I, um…do you think my family and I would be able to visit you and your grandma over the holidays?"

Neville had _not_ been expecting that. "Uh yeah, I don't see why not."

"Cool," said Hannah.

The rest of the lesson was spent in a somewhat awkward, but not _totally_ unpleasant, silence. As the first-years were let out, Neville swept passed Harry and Ron, said, "I think Hannah likes me," then kept walking. Naturally, the two boys chased after him in confusion and curiosity.

"What?" demanded Ron.

"I think Hannah Potter likes me," repeated Neville.

"Yeah," said Harry, "we got that. But what makes you think that?"

"She asked if she could come visit me these holidays."

"Woah," said the other boys in unison.

"And what did you say?" asked Harry.

"I said that she could come."

"What?" said Harry and Ron who were – like a bad sitcom – still in unison.

"What's wrong with that? I think—I think I might like her."

"Okay, Neville," said Harry, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "I think—wait, is her family coming with her?"

"That's what she said, why?"

"Well, it's just that my dad and I ran into her and her father at Ollivander's when we were getting all my things for Hogwarts, and her dad and mine seemed to, um, well let's just say they _definitely_ weren't best buddies."

Neville didn't understand the point. "So? What's this got to do with Hannah?"

"I don't know. I just thought you should know, I guess. My dad is usually a pretty good judge of character so Hannah's dad must've done something that made my dad mad at him."

Ron chimed in. "Harry, did your dads go to school together?"

"Probably," said Harry after thinking for a moment. "Why?"

"Well something could've happened then. Your dad was in Slytherin, right? Well wasn't Hannah's in Gryffindor? If they were in the same year, that pretty much automatically gives them a reason to not like each other."

"Yeah, you're probably right," said Harry, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that it was something else. He was going to have to ask his father about it someday.


	10. Chapter 9

_I am so incredibly sorry that it's taken me this long to update. I guess I just had to take a bit of a break from writing for awhile. I wish I could say that I'll be updating a bit more regularly, but I don't know if I'll be able to.  
><em>_Again, I'm so sorry, but I hope you enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Going Home<strong>

While Harry had been sitting in the common room with Ron and Hermione, he'd seen Neville walk past and up the stairs. He muttered something to the others and quickly followed.

As Harry walked up the steps to the dorm he shared with the other first-year Gryffindor boys, he thought about what Professor McGonagall had said about talking to Neville. Harry thought that now was as good a time as any, especially after their conversation earlier.

"Hey, Neville," he said as he came through the door at the top of the stairs that led to their room. "Can I, ah, talk to you?"

"Oh, hi Harry. Sure."

Harry walked over to where Neville was perched on the edge of his bed and sat down next to him.

"Umm, I don't want to sound intrusive or anything, but I wanted to talk to you about your parents." Harry looked up at the boy sitting by him.

Neville was looking at his shoes with an odd intensity. He said nothing for a while; then, "What do you want to know, Harry?"

"Well, I don't really want to _know_ anything, I guess. I—I'm assuming you know what happened to my mum. You also might know that I never talk to anyone about her. I guess I just thought it might be a good idea if we talked about our parents. I don't know. Just—just forget it." Harry stood up and started for the door.

"Wait," said Neville. "I think it's a great idea. I never talk to anyone about my parents, either. Come back and sit down, Harry." Harry did so. "I don't really know how to start, but I guess I'll just say that you might be interested to know that my dad is making a huge recovery in St. Mungo's. My Grandma sent me an owl about a week ago saying that recently, he has been getting a lot better. I'm going to visit him over Christmas."

"Neville, that's great news!" said Harry.

Neville just gave a small smile. "So, did you want to talk about your mum?"

Harry paused. "Yeah, I just don't know where to begin."

Neville knew exactly how he felt. "Why don't you just tell me about her?"

"Well, when she came to Hogwarts, she was in Gryffindor, like us." Harry paused. He realised he didn't really know that much about his mother. He could see, out of the corner of his eye, Neville was looking at him, waiting patiently. "Umm…actually, I don't really know that much about her. My dad finds it really hard to talk about her. All I have is a few photographs of her."

"Oh…would you mind if I take a look?"

"Of course not." Harry got up and walked over to his trunk to get the scrapbook. When he returned, Neville carefully took it and opened it slowly, like it would break if it was moved to harshly.

He flicked through it gently for a few minutes. "Wow," was all he said.

* * *

><p>Draco Malfoy stood in the Slytherin common room. He had just brought his trunk down from the dorm and was about to make his way up to the Entrance Hall. He was nervous about going home and seeing his father. He would probably be questioned on how he was going on gaining Harry's trust, and he had no clue as to how he would respond. Harry basically trusted him already, but Father couldn't know that because he would then want to know how Draco had gained it so quickly.<p>

His mind was desperately searching for answers, but none came.

"Draco!" A girl's voice interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see Pansy Parkinson smiling and walking towards him. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Hey, Pansy," said Draco, sighing. "Sure. Let's go."

The two first-year Slytherins left the dungeons, one much more enthusiastically than the other.

* * *

><p>The vast majority of the Hogwarts student body congregated in the Entrance Hall as they prepared to go home for the Christmas holidays. Harry stood with Ron and Hermione in the corner as people began to file outside where the wintery cold awaited them. He didn't know why, but he was slightly nervous about going home and seeing his father.<p>

"Come on, Harry! You don't want to be left behind, do you?" Hermione was calling to him as her and Ron started to leave the Hall with the rest of the school.

Harry ran to catch up with them. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"Yeah," said Ron, "we figured."

Hermione looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and worry. "Are you okay, Harry?"

"Yeah, I guess. It's just that, for some reason, I'm nervous about seeing my father."

"Why would you nervous about _that?_ He's your father," said Ron.

"That's what I don't know," said Harry. He had a suspicion, though, that it might be because he would have to tell his father what Draco had told him, but he couldn't say that to Ron and Hermione.

The trio continued to the Hogsmeade train station where the Hogwarts Express was waiting. As they clambered aboard, Harry had an odd sense that he was being watched. He turned around just in time to see a blond head dashing into another carriage of the train. He walked down the aisle with his best friends and knew that he was going to have to tell them about what was going on with Malfoy. The only problem was, he didn't actually _know_ what was going on with Malfoy. Harry resolved to tell when term resumed, and after he had the chance to get a grasp on the situation with Draco Malfoy.

* * *

><p>Severus was early to arrive at Platform 9 ¾ on the day that the Hogwarts students would be coming home for the Christmas holidays. He was extremely excited to see his son that he hadn't known what do to with himself all morning.<p>

He'd been sitting around just waiting, so he eventually decided he might as well wait at the train station.

He'd only been there for about 5 minutes when other parents started arriving; so he wasn't the only eager one, then.

"Severus!"

He heard a familiar voice call out to him and turned to face the direction it came from. "Ah, Arthur. Here to pick up your boys, are you?"

"Indeed I am," replied Arthur Weasley. "Have you heard much from Harry over the term?"

"A little bit. It sounds like they have a lot to do, so he doesn't have much time to write. I get the odd letter though. How about you? Any of your boys let you know how they're going?"

"I never hear from Fred and George, but then again I don't expect to. Percy let me know fairly early on in the term how his Prefect duties were going, but nothing since. Ron didn't write for weeks so Molly sent him an owl. He replied saying everything was fine and that he figured we would've assumed that, so he didn't bother writing."

"I bet Molly wasn't too pleased about that."

"No, she wasn't. But what can you do, eh?"

"Exactly."

Just then, the Hogwarts Express pulled up to the platform in a hiss of whistles and a cloud of smoke. It wasn't long before the doors opened and students started getting out and finding their parents.

Severus waited patiently till Harry jumped off. At the sight of his son, a smile crept over his face.

"Dad!" Harry ran over to his waiting father.

"Hello son. How are you?" said Severus as he embraced his boy.

"I'm good. Hogwarts is _so_ amazing. I love it there, Dad!"

"I knew you would," said Severus as he began to lead his son away from the platform. "Oh, goodbye Arthur," he said over his shoulder.

Arthur looked up from where he was chastising his sons. "Goodbye Severus. Great to see you again."

"So," said Severus, turning back to Harry. "How were your classes? Do you like your teachers?"

"Classes are great and most of the teachers are pretty cool, too."

"That's good to hear. What about the other students? Do you get along with them?"

"Yeah, the ones I've met anyway." Harry didn't want to mention the Slytherins. He really hoped his father wouldn't bring up Draco.

"Very good."

The father and son continued the small talk all the way home. Sometimes, the conversation would veer extremely close to the Malfoys, but Harry managed to dance around actually saying anything about Draco.

He wasn't planning on telling his father anything until he had sorted out what was happening.


End file.
